DEFENCE
22 | Flight International | 3-9 March 2020 flightglobal.com
T
he Royal Thai Air Force has
outlined an ambitious plan
for buying new fighters, tactical
transports and additional assets
in the coming decade.
In its White Paper 2020, the
service details an impressive
wish list, and stresses that while
its legacy types are well main-
tained, sustainment and spare
parts availability is a challenge.
Another theme of the report is
Bangkok’s ambition to build
more indigenous capability in de-
fence aerospace, particularly in
areas such as MRO and compo-
nent production.
A planned fighter acquisition
will involve replacing the Block
15-standard Lockheed Martin
F-16A/Bs serving with the air
force’s 102 and 103 squadrons,
with new aircraft sought over a
decade-long period from 2023.
It hopes to obtain funding be-
tween fiscal year 2023 and 2028
for 12 new jets to replace 102
Sqn’s assets, with a dozen more
to equip the other unit between
2028 and 2033.
The F-16 replacement pro-
gramme calls for a degree of
technology transfer, and the
ability to support the selected
aircraft locally.
EXTRA GRIPENS
Also on the air force’s priority list
is obtaining the budget to acquire
additional Saab Gripen C/Ds in
FY2023-2025. The service cur-
rently has 11 of the Swedish-built
type, and also wants to boost its
ability to provide logistics sup-
port for the fleet.
Another aspiration is to field
12 new light-attack aircraft to re-
place its Aero Vodochody L-39s,
which are becoming increasingly
difficult to service. The air force
also wants to buy two additional
Korea Aerospace Industries
T-50TH trainers, to bolster its
current 12 examples.
Upgrade priorities include
modernising two Saab 340
airborne early warning (AEW)
aircraft, which Bangkok wants to
see transformed into assets capa-
ble of performing more complex
control missions. It is asking for
Bt4.5 billion ($142 million)
between 2021 and 2024 to sup-
port this work.
“[The] Saab 340 AEW has
been in service for a long time,
resulting in several mission
limitations,” says the White
Paper. In addition, the current
international airworthiness cer-
tificate for its Saab Erieye radaris due to expire in 2021, it says.
Another major programme
involves obtaining 12 new tacti-
cal transports to succeed Thai-
land’s Lockheed C-130H fleet,
with budget requested from
2022-2029. It also wants to re-
place a pair of Saab 340s used as
transports.VIP UPGRADE
Also in the transport category,
the air force hopes to obtain a
new VVIP aircraft to support the
country’s royal family, replace a
VIP-configured Airbus ACJ319,
and field three new helicopters
for similar duties.
Thailand sent a pair of up-
graded Northrop F-5TH fighters
to the Singapore air show in
early February, with the work
having extended the type’s ser-
vice life until the end of the2020s. Key updates included in-
corporating new glass cockpit
avionics, a Leonardo Grifo-F me-
chanically scanned radar and a
Link-T datalink capability, ena-
bling connectivity with its
Erieye and Gripen fleets.
The air force will decommis-
sion its Pilatus PC-9 basic trainers
in 2023, and intends to acquire
12 new aircraft. It also wants to
phase out and replace its Pacific
Aerospace CT-4E basic trainers.
Additional areas covered by
the White Paper include an aspi-
ration to replace Bell 412 utility
helicopters, obtain an armed un-
manned air vehicle capability,
and acquire four aircraft to re-
place its Basler BT-67s. The ser-
vice employs the updated ver-
sion of the Douglas DC-3 for
applications including transport
and cloud-seeding. ■Shutterstock
Replacing Block 15-standard F-16A/Bs across two squadrons will have technology transfer requirementDownload the 2020
World Air Forces Report
http://www.flightglobal.com/waf
in association with:STRATEGY GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
Bangkok details procurement targets
Air force plans call for raft of acquisitions covering fighters, trainers, tactical and VIP transports, along with rotorcraft